Slitting machine



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F. w. MERRICK SLITTING MACHINE Filed Sept..14, 192sDec. 18, 1928.

Y lizvezaiar; Fraizz: "(M67772 Patented Dec. 18,1928.

UNITED- STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK W. EEBRIGK, OF DORUHESTEB, MASSAGH USETTS, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICANSTAY 00., OF EAST BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF-MASSAOHU-SETTS.

SLITTING MACHINE;

"Application filed September i4, 192's. Serial m5. 135,299.

Thisinvention relates to slitting machines and its aim is to. provide amachine capable of being quickly and easily conditioned ac-' curately toslit a large sheet of material into a number ofinarrower strips ofpredeterminedwidths, or .to trim the edges. of the sheet. In theaccompanying drawings, wherein I have shown merely 'one embodiment ofthe invention:

Fig. 1 is a vertical diagrammatic section of the slitting machine, partsofthe frame .and non-pertinent parts of the machine being broken away oromitted to more clearly is illustrate the invention;

' Fig. 2 is detail side elevation of one of the slitter separator units;I Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1

Fig. 4 is a detail plan view of a slitter and its holder; T

in Fig. 4; and

, Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view of one of the separator units about tobe inserted in separating relation to a group of slitter holders whichlatter are shown in section.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the parts shown.

In the accompanying drawings I haveelected to show the invention inconnection with a series of rotary cutters or slitters of the score-cuttype wherein a relatively dull cutting edge is maintained in rollingcontact with a hardened surface, the said shtters beingadapted forslitting paper, cloth, leather and like materials, but it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited to the application shown.

For convenience only those arts of the machine that are closely relateto the per- 0 tinent features of the invention are shown,

these being in somewhat diagrammatic form and including a frame 1 uponwhich is rotatably mounted in any appropriate-manner not shown a platenmember or roll 2 having a hardened bearin surface 3. I

Cooperating wit 7 the hardened platen roll 2 is a series of rotary.cutters or slitters 4 provided with relatively dull cutting edges 5which are caused to roll against the surface 3 of the roll 2 undersuflicient pressure to score-cut the material passing between said rolland said slitters.

The slitters 4 are each rotatably mounted .considerable portion forillustrative purposes on an adjustable supporting ,to the platen member2 to in a holder 6 (see Figs. 4 and 5) including a body member 7 carying spaced slitter supporting members 8 which extend along a each sideof the slitter 4, said members 8 be- 111g connected together at theopposite side ofthe slltter by a filler-block 9. The memof the body 7and on.

brs 8 are'slotted at 10 to receive the endsof an arbor 11 non-rotatablymounted in said slots and carrying an roller bearing 12 about volves.

Desirably the thickness of" the slitter holder which includes thesupporting memappropriate ball or which the slitter rebers 8 and thebody 7 is substantiallyequal 1 to the distance between centers ofsuccessive slitters when the latter are spaced to form the narrowestfinished strip which the machine is capable of producing and when sospaced the outer faces of the members 8 bear against similar faces ofadjacent holders and maintain said holders upright so as to steady theslitters during operation under pressure. The holder 6 is somewhatelongated and at its lower edge is notched at 13 to rest upbar 14. Thenotch 13 is desirably substantially semi-circular and receives thecorrespondingly formed upper end of said supporting bar 14, which latterconstitutes a pivot about which the holders may be rocked to permitlateral movement of their slitters relatively compensate for varyingthicknesses of work.

. The direction of movement of the bar 14 is generally toward or awayfrom the plane of the platen roll 2, in the present example in asubstantially vertical direction due to the fact that the slitters 4 arearranged.benea th the platen roll. so as to engage its under surface. Toefiect adjustment of said supporting bar 14 cams 15 are herein provided,one

of. which is shown in Fig. 1 carried by a mounted in the frame 1,

desirably having an adjusting member,'herein a screw 21, which isarranged to seat against a cross member 23 carried by the frame 1.

The supporting bar 14 is located between the platen roll 2 and the crossmember 23, therefore when said supporting bar 14 is raised by the cams15 the slitter 4 carried by the holder 6 will be forced against theplaten roll while the adjusting member 21 carried by the spring 19 willengage said cross member 23, said spring yielding according to theextent of movement of the cam 15 to effect the desired pressure of theslitter 4 against said platen roller.

The slitting machine embodying the pres ent invention may be adjusted tocarry two or a large number of slitters so that it will trim the roughedges oil of a narrow or a wide strip or slit a wide strip into a largenumber of smaller strips of equal width or of varying widths. Whenhowever the widths of the strips that it is desired to form are greaterthan the thickness of the holder 6, that is the -minimum width, it isdesirable to introduce between said holders separators which are of justthe desired thickness properly to space successive slitters. To this endseparators 25 are provided desirably consisting of elongated bars whichextend lengthwise of the holders 6, herein approximately the length ofthe bearing surfaces 8, and at least to the centers of the slitters 4.

In the present example the separators 25 extend from a point at the leftof said slitters (see Fig. 1) near the outer peripheries thereof towardthe opposite end of said holder substantially beyond the supportingmember or bar 14 and by completely filling the space between adjacentslitter holders it will be apparent that said slitters regardless of thepressure applied from beneathurging said slitters toward the platenrolls, will be prevented from moving longitudinally of the platen roll 2or from tipping sidewise and ence will produce a strip of uniform widththroughout with little waste.

The operator may be called upon to make many adjustments of the machineto varythe widths of the strips, particularly where the jobs are rathersmall. He may wish-to adjust the spacing of the slitters at one end onlyor he may find it convenient tov adjust the spacing of the slittersthroughout the length of the machine, and if the machine is wide,

as it usually is, this conditioning operation may take considerabletime. Therefore it is desirable that the separatin members 25 arrangedin interchangea le units or groups of varying widths and comprisingdiiierent numbers of separators.

In the present drawings I have shown three such units. The first unitbeginning at the left and marked A is made to embrace three holders andincludes two separating members 25 of full thickness, while the outerseparators 27 are only half thickness, so that when the unit A is placedbeside a similarly spaced unit the half separators of the adjacent unitswill unite to form a separator of the correctthickness.

It may not always be desirable to carry the same spacing of the slittersthroughout the length of the machine therefore sonic spaces may beskipped, as indicated by the unit B (Fig. 3) in which only every otherof the grooves formed by the separators 25 are used, and this spacing ofthe slitters may continue throughout the machine or still greater gapsmay be produced by skipping two or more spaces (see for example the unitC). It is to facilitate this variation in spacing between adjacentslitters that the separating members 25 are grouped in units ofdiiierent numbers and desirably the separating elements of each unit areformed integral so that they may be more easily removed or replaced.

It is however clearly to be understood that the invention is not limitedto the thickness of separator or to thespac-ing shown, neither is itlimited to the size and number of units employed. lVith the abovearrangement a group of separators of one thickness may quickly besubstituted for those of a different thickness, so that practically anycombination of strips may be produced upon the machine at one operation.

Desirably the separators of each unit are integrally united at theirupper edges by a bridge-like member 29 extending across the entire groupof separators for each unit in back of the slitters and firmly bindingsaid separators together, and this bridge-like member is of such a lenth that it will rest upon the upper edges 0? the holders 6 cmbracedthereby and so preventtilting or displacement of the separators betweenthe slitter holders.

By arranging the bridge member 29 above the-slitter holders leaving thelower edges of the separators free it will bepossible after pressure hasbeen removed from the slitter holders by movement of the cams 15 towithdraw the separator units from their separating ositions withoutdisturbing the positions 0 the holders or without first removing theholders from the machine,.and likewise separators of differentthicknesses may be inserted while the holders are still in the machine.

To insert separators which are of a dit- I.

shuflling of the slitter holders along the bar the positionshown indotted lines (Fig. 1) and longitudinally of theholders to the full linepositionof said figure, the tapered ends 31 will cause said holdersautomatically to assome their-proper positions.

The above operations may be repeated throughout the several groups untileach holder and its slitter is arranged in the desired position. Clamps33 are provided at the ends of the series of separators and holders forpreventing movement thereof longitudinally of said bar 14, and theseclamps have means, preferably screws 35, for securing them to said bar.

When the positioning of the slitters is completed the shaft 17 carryingthe cam 15 may be rotated to raise the slitters and the springs 19 intocontact with the platenroll 2 and the cross bar 23 respectively, inwhich position the said holders are maintained during the slitting ofthe work.

vOrdinarily friction between the separators 25 and the adjacent slitterholders 6 will be sufficient to prevent movement of the separatorlongitudinally of the holders, but to positively prevent thisIprefer toextend said separators 25 downwardly below the upper edge of thesupporting bar 14 and recess them at 37 to straddle said bar.

The work indicated at 39 may be fed through the machine and taken careof in any appropriate manner, for examplethe platen roll 2 may berotated andthis roll in turn will rotate the slitters 4,; said workbeing guided to the slitters and platen roll by guide rolls 41 and 42and subsequently rewound upon a roll 43 which revolves-in contact withthe platen roll 2. It is however to be understood that the invention isnot limited to this manner Claims: V 1. In a slitting machine, a seriesof slitters, a .platen member for cooperating with said of handling thework.

. slitters, holders for said slitters, and unitary separating means foraseries of said slitters arranged to be inserted between said slitterholders and to be supported thereby after the latter have been assembledin the machine.

2. In a slitting machine, a series of'slitters, a platen member forcooperating with sa1d slitters, holders for said slitters-and unitarseparating means for a group of said slitters arranged to be insertedbetween said slitter holders after the latter have been assembleddistances apart includ in the machine, said holders and separating meanshavlng cooperating portions forsupportmg the latter relative to theformer.

3; In a slitting machine, a series of slitters, a platen member forcooperating with sa1d slitters, holders for said slitters comprismg agroup of spaced separators andseparating means for said slitters ofpredeter- I mined thickness arranged to be inserted as a unit betweensaid slitter holders-after the latter'have been assembled in themachine.

4. .In a slitting machine, a series of slitters, a platen me'mber forcooperating with said slitters, holders for said slitters, a rockersupport for said holders positioned below them, and unitary separatingmeans for a series of said holders arranged to be inserted between themfrom above after they have been assembled in the machine.

5. A slitting. machine comprising in combination, a platen member.slitters for (:0- operating with said platen member, holders for saidslitters, means for maintaining said slitters in adjustableyieldingengagement with said platen member and means to support saidslitters a ainst lateral and to space said sitters at predetermineddistances apart including at least one group of integral elongatedseparating membersof predetermined spacing arranged between saidslitters. p

6. A slitting machine comprising in combination, a platen member,slitters for cooperating with said platen member, holders for saidslitters, means for maintaining said slitters in adjustable yieldingengagement movement with said platen member and means to support saidslitters a ainst lateral movement and to space saidsitters atpredetermined g removable unitary series of separating mem ers havingsupporting faces to engage substantial portions of said holders betweensaid slitters. I

7. A slitting machine comprising in com-.

bination, a platen member, slitters for cooperating with said plateninember, holders for said slitters, means for maintaining said slittersin adjus tableyielding engagement with said platen member and-means tosupport said slitters age-inst lateral movement and to space said s'tters at predetermined distances apart including integral groups ofseparating members arran ed to be removed without displacement of saidslitters.

8.A slitting machine comprising in combination, a platen member,slitters for cooperating with said platen member, holders forsaidslitters, means for maintaining said slitters in adjustable yieldingengagement with said platen member, means to support said slittersagainst lateral movement and y. to space said slitters at predetermineddistances apart'including a unitary series of holder spacing membersextending longitudinally of said holders and between said slitters andmeans to position said spacers and saidkholders transversely withrespect to the wor 9. In a slitting machine, a platen roll, a series ofrotary slitters for cooperating with said platen roll,-elongated holdersfor said slitters having a thickness approximating the minimum spacingof said slitters, a supporting member for said holders, and separatingmeans of predetermined thickness arranged to be inserted or removed frombetween holders without removing said holders from the machine, saidseparating means having portions cooperating with said holders andhaving other portions cooperating with said support respectively forpositioning said means transversely to and longitudinally of saidholders.

10. In a slitting'machine, a platen r0ll,'a series of slitters forcooperating with said platen roll and arranged for movementlongitudinally of said platen roll to vary the width of the work,holders for said slitters, a support for said holders adapted tomaintain said slitters in engagement with said platen roll and removableseparators for spacing said holders longitudinally of said platen roll,said separators having tapered portions for facilitating the insertionof said separa tors between said holders.

11. In a machine of the character described, a platen member, a seriesof slitters for 00- operating with said platen member, holders for saidslitters and means to position said holders at selected distances apartincluding units composed of a plurality of integral separating elementseach of said elements being tapered to facilitate the insertion thereofbetween said holders.

12. In a machine of the character described,

a platen member, a series of slitters for cooperating with said platenmember, holders for said slitters and means to position said holders at.selected distances apart and ineluding separating elements havingtapered portions to facilitate insertion of said elements between saidholders.

13. A slitting machine having, in combination, a plurality of parallelslitters, means forming a platen cooperating with said slitters,elongated holders for said slitters, the latter being carried at one ofthe end portions of the former, means for supporting said holders forrocking movement in planes normal to said platen comprising an elongatedsupport, said holders being slidable transversely on said support, andspacing means for said holders comprising a group of rigidly connectedspacers, said spacers severally adapted to be inserted between theholders.

14. A slitting machine having, in combination, a plurality of parallelslitters, means forming a platen cooperating with said slitters,elongated holders for said slitters, the latter being carried at one ofthe end portions of the former, means. for supporting said holders forrocking movement in planes normal to said platen comprising an elongatedsupport, said holders being slidable trans-.

versely on said support, and spacing means for said holders comprising amember having a plurality of projecting spacers each adapted to beinserted between the holders, said spacers cooperating with said supportfor positioning them relative to said holders and engaging said holdersadjacent said support and said slitters.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

, FRANK W. MERRICK.

